The Oakwood, IL driver scored his eighth win of 2023, and increased his points lead to 108

NEW RICHMOND, WI – August 5, 2023– A week ago, a World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series crown jewel slipped away from Bobby Pierce. And when the next opportunity came Saturday at Cedar Lake Speedway, he wouldn’t waste it.

With $50,000 on the line, he survived a last-lap slide job by Hudson O’Neal, beating him to the checkered flag by 0.073 seconds to earn his first USA Nationals win.

O’Neal, the outside pole sitter, grabbed the lead on Lap 1 of the 100-lap battle, storming past Ricky Thornton Jr. on the outside of Turn 2. And as the Martinsville, IN driver controlled the race’s first quarter, Pierce ascended toward the front.

The Oakwood, IL driver, who started fifth, drove around Brandon Sheppard and Thornton on the outside to move into second on Lap 22. That’s when he set his sights on O’Neal.

Pierce made his first attempt at the lead 10 laps later, but O’Neal slid in front of him in Turn 4 to stay ahead. That wouldn’t stop the “Smooth Operator,” though. As the two reached Turns 1 and 2, Pierce dove underneath O’Neal, sliding in front of him to take the lead.

From there, Pierce cruised through the next 60 laps. But with five laps to go, traffic became heavier, allowing O’Neal another chance at the win.

As Pierce took the white flag, Kyle Bronson, a lap car, was right in front of him in the outside lane. That allowed O’Neal to get a burst of speed in Turn 2, closing rapidly on Pierce’s spoiler. O’Neal dove under Pierce in Turn 3, and as they reached the apex of the corner, slid his Rocket Chassis across the nose of the #32. 

When O’Neal’s spoiler shot across his nose, Pierce switched lanes as they entered Turn 4, diving to the bottom with one last gasp. It was a gasp that paid off, as he beat O’Neal to the checkered flag by 0.073 seconds to win the $50,000 prize. 

“I knew [O’Neal] was getting pretty close,” Pierce said. “I barely saw the flagman throw the white, and I was like, ok, last corner here. My last couple of laps weren’t that great, and I caught (Kyle) Bronson. He pushed really bad, and I was kind of at the mercy of him. And I couldn’t quite get to the point where I could slide him. 

“I saw Hudson’s blue flopper there last second, and then I backed it into the wall and tried to shoot down the corner as fast as I could. He hit it really good, too. I did not expect him to get off the corner that well. We came to the line pretty close, but I figured I had him when I nosed ahead of him and pinched him a little bit.”

The victory is Pierce’s eighth Series victory of 2023, and the 12th of his career. He also extended his points lead to 108 over Chris Madden, who finished eighth. 

This win stands out for Pierce because it brings him redemption. He said he’s been hungry to win the Wisconsin crown jewel after finishing second to Jimmy Owens in 2014.

“I’ve always wanted to lead laps in this race towards the end,” Pierce said. “We were always getting there too late. I’ve finished with a lot of top fives and top 10’s in this race. It was a long time coming here, and if I had the experience I had back in 2014, I probably could’ve beaten Jimmy (Owens). I kind of gave that race away to him. I never knew if I’d ever get that opportunity again. And here it was.”

O’Neal’s second-place finish was his sixth consecutive World of Outlaws top five after narrowly missing out on his second career Series victory.

He said he gave it everything he had in the last few laps to give his Rocket Chassis a chance to steal the win.

“It was a last-ditch effort with everything I had,” O’Neal said. “I tried to get a run on him. I felt like I did a good job of getting through [Turns] 1 and 2 and making sure I got close enough to him to try and do that.”

“I’ve ran second a lot here the last couple of months. And it’s aggravating, but it’s rewarding. It’s good, and we’re proud to have a good race car and to be competing for these races. For some reason, we just can’t quite put the nail in the coffin.”

Tanner English crossed the line third—his fourth podium this season in races 60 laps or more. The Benton, KY, driver said he struggled through traffic while racing in the middle lane.

“We kind of caught lap traffic at a weird time,” English said. “It just kind of messed us up a little bit. I messed up there about halfway through the race, too. I hit the kill switch twice going down the front stretch, trying to turn on four-wheel brakes. It’s a little bit my fault, but I wish we had a caution there to catch back up about halfway to see what happened.”

Defending Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth, and Sheppard rounded out the top five. The four-time Series champion is now third in points, 144 points behind Pierce.

Despite losing out on the Prairie Dirt Classic, Bobby Pierce bounced back to earn his first World of Outlaws crown jewel win a week later. He can now leave the USA Nationals checked off on his resume for the rest of his career.  

“Anyone that’s asked me before knows this race is right up there with the Prairie Dirt Classic,” Pierce said. “It’s one I’ve wanted to win for a long time.”

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models travel to Davenport Speedway in Davenport, IA, for the My Place Hotels Quad Cities 150 Aug. 24-26, along with the Xtreme Outlaws Midget Series presented by Toyota. FOR TICKETS: CLICK HERE.

August 5, 2023

Harrison Burton and 20 Year Senior Master Technicians Mustang are set to start 29th in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Burton took that spot with a lap at 190.019 miles per hour in qualifying on Saturday afternoon. His qualifying speed was faster than his best lap in practice earlier in the day, when he toured the two-mile oval at 188.640 mph. That lap, which was 30th on the speed chart, came on the 15th of the 17 laps he ran in the session.

The No. 21 Mustang will continue a program of honoring veteran service technicians from Ford and Lincoln dealerships. Honoring the technicians is part of the team’s effort at MIS, the home track of Ford Motor Company.

Sunday’s 200-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. with Stage breaks planned for Laps 45 and 120.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE TEAM CHEVY FIRESTONE FAST SIX REPORT AUGUST 5, 2023 IT’S AN ALL-CHEVROLET FRONT ROW FOR SUNDAY’S BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX ON THE STREETS OF NASHVILLEScott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, captured his first pole of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR Series season and fourth of his career on the streets of Nashville with his fastest lap of 01:14.6099.McLaughlin’s pole award is the second for the Bowtie brand on the 2.17-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Nashville in the third year of the event, with McLaughlin going back-to-back on NTT P1 Pole Awards for the Music City Grand PrixWith his strong runner-up effort lap of 01:14.9395, Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren INDYCAR Chevrolet, helped Team Chevy capture the front row and finished second in the Firestone Fast Six.Chevrolet is represented by five drivers in the top-10 starting lineup, including McLaughlin (first), O’Ward (second), Will Power (seventh), Josef Newgarden (ninth), and Alexander Rossi (10th).The morning rain-soaked second practice session saw six Chevrolet drivers represented in the top-10, including both Ed Carpenter Racing entries of Rinus VeeKay and Ryan Hunter-Reay, all three Team Penske drivers Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, and Josef Newgarden, and INDYCAR Rookie and Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Agustin Canapino.Due to rainy conditions, final practice was cancelled, and qualifications moved to the final practice window later, capping off Saturday on the Streets of Nashville.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 QUALIFYING RESULT:Pos.  Driver1st      Scott McLaughlin2nd    Pato O’Ward7th     Will Power9th     Josef Newgarden10th   Alexander Rossi TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 SECOND PRACTICE RESULT:Pos.  Driver2nd    Rinus VeeKay3rd     Will Power4th     Scott McLaughlin7th     Ryan Hunter-Reay8th     Josef Newgarden10th   Agustin Canapino Green flag for the 80-lap, 168-mile 2023 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix waves live on Sunday, Aug. 6 at noon ET on NBC from the streets of Nashville. Additional coverage of the race can be found on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“It’s just been okay. You know, not great. Obviously not a great session for us. So, We’ll work from the top-10 there and try to make some magic in the race. I think it’s the best thing we can do. We’ve got a great team. You never know what can happen. It’s tough to say. I think you could have a nightmare day and still win this race. That’s pretty much what’s happened the last two years. I think as soon as you predict that, it typically doesn’t go that way, but you just never know. You have to go in (to the race) with a good attitude. I think we’ve got the team to do it every time so let’s see what happens.”  Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“We did a big lap for Q1 that really set us up. This DEX Imaging printer wagon, man, every time we’re in this printer wagon DEX Imaging Chevy, she’s a ripper. I’m really proud of that one. We set it up in Q1 and had a really good run. Saved one lap, and go do the big laps when you need to do them, and I did that twice in that session I’m really proud of.” What does it do for your psyche knowing others are behind you on the start with the potential chaos of Nashville?“Who knows with this place. Yellows can happen out of the blue, and strategy can be thrown anywhere. We start in the No. 1 spot, and I’m really proud of this team. We had a great call on strategy there in qualifying. It’s basically the same car we had last year and put it on pole two years in a row. It’s unreal.” Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“I made a mistake in (turn) nine. We were definitely on a lap. Until nine, it was good enough to get through. Locked the front and then went all the way out to the wall down the first. Yeah, that kind of ruined it for us. You’ve got to get it on that first lap when the tires are good. That’s your only chance. We were there, made a little mistake, can’t do that.” Is this one of those tracks where you want to start up front considering the history of this race?“Yeah. You would expect so, but you don’t know. It could be like Toronto and go mostly green. Toronto used to be like this race. Easy to make mistakes. It doesn’t, as you’ve seen this year, sometimes it doesn’t matter where you qualify. For us on the road and street course races, we need to be in the top-six if you want to win the race. Further than that, top-four, otherwise we’re just not going to have a chance.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“Congrats to Scott. I don’t think I had three-tenths of a second in there to get a little bit closer; I maybe had one. But I was super happy with my car. I think we were really strong in Round 2. I thought it would be a couple tenths slower in the Firestone Fast 6 just because I wasn’t on the Firestone Red Tires. I’ve never won from pole, so I’m not angry I’m starting second.” Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“I thought it was pretty good. It was a lot better in practice. Obviously, not a lot of track time. The track was actually really, really grippy so it’s kind of a different thing out there. It was pretty fun getting used to it in a short time. I thought for sure we had the car to go through, just didn’t happen. It was kind of a mix of a little bit of everything. Some minor mistakes, just hit the limiter on some up shifts. I think when you have four-thousandths to get into the Fast Six, those things play in. A little disappointed, but I think honestly in Nashville you can start from 14th and still have a good race. I’m not too worried about it, but obviously I wanted to make the Fast 12.” “I think the race is going to be a different beast. Obviously, without having a warmup, I think we have a really good balance now. Probably want to keep that for the race. We had no chance to practice with how it’s going to be with high fuel, so a little bit of a guessing game. My team is pretty good at guessing right, so I have great confidence we will have a great race car tomorrow.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:”It was a wild day. We didn’t go out for Practice 2. It was one of our better street-course qualifyings, but we still have a decent gap to find to get to the top six. We’ll keep chipping at it; we’ve learned some good things and we have lots to play for tomorrow.” Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“Front row start for Pato (O’Ward) is great. You always want the pole, but the front row is a great place to start and we’ll try to keep our nose clean at the start of the race. There’s a little more work to do for Alexander and Felix starting 10th and 14th, but with the way the race can run here, we have three bullets that can win this thing. We’ll open our options up strategy-wise and see how it goes.” Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“I can’t really explain how we ended the day. We were competitive in Practice 1 and 7th this morning in Practice 2, but in qualifying we weren’t even in the ballpark. We’ll have to go back and look at everything to try and get an understanding of why. This is a first in my career and unfortunately I don’t have answers right now. We’ll have to look at it and hopefully make this better for tomorrow.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“That was a pretty disappointing qualifying session. I had felt pretty racy, especially this morning in practice in the rain, but we just didn’t have it in qualifying. We will work hard overnight to come back with a good racecar for tomorrow.” Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:“Overall, not too bad. I think ninth in our group. We were strong, just a super tough group. Lots of good teams within that group, so it was going to be a tough one. Starting 18th tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. So far, it’s been a bit of a tough Nashville weekend with the weather and not getting much running in, so it’s been hard to develop on anything. Obviously, similar to other people but we want to keep striving forward. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.” Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:“We will start 23rd tomorrow in the race. Of course we want more. Honestly, I didn’t feel the car really today and yesterday in the dry conditions. We tried something different on the car, and it’s not working at the moment. In the rain, the car was really good. We ended up P10 in practice. I think the car was really strong, but for some reason, it’s not enough for dry. Tomorrow, I will try to have a good race and take some points.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, and PATO O’WARD, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren INDYCAR Chevrolet – End of Day Press Conference:THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up qualifying for tomorrow’s race here on the straights of Nashville. Joined now by the pole winner for tomorrow’s race, Scott McLaughlin. Back-to-back pole positions here in Nashville. Also joining us, Pato O’Ward. It is an all-Chevrolet front row for tomorrow’s race. Scott, we’ll begin with you. Tell us about your qualifying run. How satisfying? SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Really satisfying because it all started in Q1 for us. Pumped a decent lap out there. 6/10ths better than P2. We were able to do one lap on our greens. Bolted those on for Q3. I just had to make sure we got to the Fast Six, which we did. Every lap in quallie, nailed it pretty good. A really satisfying qualifying session, probably the best of my INDYCAR career, to be honest. THE MODERATOR: You take a look at the gap between you and Pato and the rest of the field. The last lap was huge. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That was the money one, really nice, juicy. I’m really happy with that.Yeah, look, honestly, same car as what we ran last year. It’s just been unreal. The Chevy has been awesome. Been a lot of gains everywhere. I think we’ve made improvements. Overall just to come here with the same philosophy, just nail laps, it’s a good feeling, especially with the interruptions between sessions. I actually wanted it to rain. I was excited with the rain. The rain was a lot of fun this morning, had a blast. Learn a ton every time I’m in the rain. Nice to be fast in the wet and dry. THE MODERATOR: Pato, good momentum heading into tomorrow’s race for you. Your thoughts?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, congrats, Scott. I don’t think I had 3/10ths in there to get a little closer. Maybe one. Pretty stellar lap. I was super happy with my car. I think we were really strong in Q2. I thought it would be a couple 10ths slower in Q3 because it’s not new alternate. I’ve never won from pole, so I’m not angry I’m starting second (smiling). SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I have (smiling). THE MODERATOR: Maybe bodes well for tomorrow. Who knows.We’ll begin with questions. Q. Last year’s race here, is that one you feel like kind of got away from you?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah. The final stint there, we were 15th. Managed to lose by a nose. There’s a lot went on. Our car was phenomenal. I feel like it’s just as good this year. Just a matter of… I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. You can’t even plan really. Guy won last year doing six stops. You just got to play it on the run and try and do the best job, execute every lap that I can. Pit stops need to be good. Yeah, the reason we were back there last year was a bad pit stop. That was an unfortunate thing that doesn’t really happen on my car.Yeah, I’m super pumped for tomorrow to see what we got. Q. Colton (Herta) said when you’re fast here, you’re waiting for something to go wrong. Did you feel that way last year?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I mean, you’re just waiting for the yellow light to flash up on your dash or something like that. You can’t control anything like that. It’s a matter of me controlling what I can control, execute. I feel like I’ve done that all weekend. It’s just a matter of executing for tomorrow’s race. Q. Pato, even though Scott dominated, maybe it’s not a race where you want to be up front because…PATO O’WARD: Everything can happen here, as we’ve seen in ’21. The first car that was in the air won (laughter). Yeah, will it be as chaotic tomorrow? I don’t know. That’s what we thought in ’22. It was worse, so… Maybe tomorrow it’s the same. Worse, better, I don’t know. If it rains, it will make things interesting. Q. How do you strategize?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I just think you don’t. You have a plan, but you don’t. PATO O’WARD: That goes out the window after the first stint. Q. Do you make a backup plan?PATO O’WARD: You have like 10 plans. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Plans just happen. PATO O’WARD: One falls, it’s like we’re going to plan F. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I was on numbers last year, plan Z1. Q. Do you feel like you waste time in strategy meetings?PATO O’WARD: You don’t really plan it out. We’re going into the race like this, and then let’s see where we get guided, pretty much. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: See what our destiny holds. Yeah, it was just a big word ‘destiny’.No, I think we’ll just play it as it goes. I think me and Pato will get a strong start, get away from everyone, fight for the win. Q. Scott, was there any additional emphasis placed on qualifying for this race, second place, second place, second place?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. Every qualifying we go into, we want a pole. That’s how it is. It’s INDYCAR. It’s just so hard to nail it. That’s why it feels good when you have the margin.Everybody is so bloody good now. It’s just a matter of putting it together. I still think a front row start is still bloody good. Getting in the Fast Six is tough these days. You can miss it by half a 10th. No emphasis every week. You just want it more when you miss out on it a lot. Q. (No microphone.)SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: DEX Imaging, who sell printers and copiers. I just started calling it the Printer Wagon. I call the Good Ranch Chevy the Meat Wagon. Every car I’m just going to name. Pennzoil is the Oil Wagon. We’ll move on from there. Q. (No microphone.)SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, but I don’t drive that. It’s like a horse and cart. Q. Scott, for Team Penske to get a road course pole, how important is that?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s a street course. Q. Street course, road course.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m joking. I’m giving you s*** (smiling). No, look, I’m really stoked. We were dry all year. Qualifying is a really strong suit now. PATO O’WARD: Are you wet now? SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: What? PATO O’WARD: You said you were dry all year. Are you wet (smiling)? SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: You should see. I’m sweating through my suit. We went through a bit of a dry spell there. It was nice, three in a row now. Yeah, that’s a good thing. I’m really happy for (indiscernible) that drives the uppy one. He puts stickers on the truck. He gets three stickers now, which is fantastic. Q. Practice was in the wet. Only 30 minutes. There’s no warm-up. Is that just going to make this race even more of a crapshoot? Is this a better way of going into it?PATO O’WARD: We’ve been dry the past few years. It’s crash-ville so…SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think just press on. We’ll be all right. PATO O’WARD: Maybe we’re full green. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I don’t want anyone doing any more laps. Q. Scott, SVG said apparently in the last few days he’s going to be leaving Supercars in Australia and coming to NASCAR part-time next year. How nice is to it have him coming over?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think he’s been talking to me a little bit about what it’s like to live here, stuff like that. I don’t know if it’s official yet. I think his intention is that, if it all happens. But, yeah, look, it’s awesome. I think I’ve said a number of times what I think he did at Chicago was awesome, awesome for New Zealand motorsport. For him to be here, I’m very excited for him. Four years ago, we were banging doors in Supercars. It’s crazy. Now we’ve both had a win in America, which is awesome. Yeah, it’s going to be cool to race on the same weekend. Brodie Kostecki from Australia is here as well. Going to be cool. Looking forward to it. I’m going to go home and watch it from my couch on Sunday. Q. You can go to the Truck race Friday night.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I probably will go to that. Yeah, I will go to that. That’s actually a good point. I just forgot about that. Q. You don’t have a warm-up session. How do you evaluate the green tires?PATO O’WARD: You don’t. You just pick a tire, don’t abuse it too much, I guess, yeah. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I agree. Q. (No microphone.)SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I believe so, yes. I think both compounds were the same. Q. The grip between practice Friday and now after qualifying?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I was surprised how much grip we had from qualifying to start with. Practice one, it was okay. I actually feel like the grip overall for the track, there’s a few changes on the track, but it actually feels really quick. Yeah, I think in addition to that is tires we run on are a little softer this year. Absolutely, I think the evolution has probably been a bit slower due to the rain, but faster I guess in my thoughts than it would. Sometimes when it rains, you wash off a lot more rubber than it usually does, so I was very surprised. Q. I’m interested to know, during the practice session this morning, was it mandated that you ran the new rain deflector bodywork?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m not sure if it was on or not. Just sort of hopped in and got going. I didn’t really look at that. I mean, I was very impressed with the tire, to be honest. Like, I felt like I had a lot of grip. For those conditions, I think it was absolute perfect conditions for our tire before we stopped, there was a lot of water on the track. The deflector, I’m not sure. The visibility is what I would expect if we had that much rain on the track. But, yeah, I can’t comment on that hundred percent. Q. There is the possibility it could rain again tomorrow. Is there a lot of road markings on the course in terms of paint that come into play or are you clear of that most of the time?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s not too bad. There’s a couple pedestrian crossings, some lines going down to turn four. The grip was there when we went across those.

Derani eclipses prototype track record by nearly a second; Bourdais qualifies third

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 5, 2023) – The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R was first and a close second to the sister Cadillac in the two practice sessions Friday on the recently resurfaced 4-mile, 14-turn road course. The quickness carried over Saturday in the 20-minute qualifying session for the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America.

Pipo Derani’s lap of 1 minute, 47.730 seconds (135.271 mph) eclipsed the 2019 DPi track record by nearly a full second and the 2021 DPi champion secured his ninth career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole and second for Cadillac Racing in the inaugural season of the Grand Touring Prototype class. “The 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R was perfect today and all week and I’m happy to put the lap together that earned the pole for the 2-hour, 40-minute race. Everyone involved has done a fantastic job this year and I have to thank all my guys,” said Derani, who earned the pole at Sebring International Raceway and teamed with Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken to win the race. Sebastien Bourdais drove the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R to third on the grid with a lap of 1:48.036 – its sixth top-four start in seven races – and will share the seat with Renger van der Zande. Bourdais was .306 of a second short from earning second front-row start of the season.  A day earlier, the Cadillac Racing hybrid racecars swapped the top of the time chart in the two free practice sessions.

Derani and Sims, who enter the race as the GTP championship leaders, picked up 35 qualifying points for the pole for a 19-point advantage. Cadillac leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship standings.Cadillac Racing posted eight podium finishes at Road America in the DPi era, including victory in 2021 (Derani, Felipe Nasr).  Bourdais and van der Zande earned a podium result at Road America in 2022 – one place behind the runner-up finish of the sister Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn. Van der Zande has also driven to third place in 2021 and second in 2020 in the Cadillac DPi-V.R at Road America. The live USA Network telecast and Peacock streaming of the race starts at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 6. Outside the U.S., streaming will be available at IMSA.com/TVLive. IMSA Radio at IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com plus SiriusXM live (XM 207, Web/App 992) broadcast of the race also starts at 11 a.m.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with best lap of 1:48.036 for third on grid: “Hats off to Pipo (Derani); he did it again. I didn’t put together the lap I wanted. We tried to optimize everything and it should have been quite a bit faster but it couldn’t carry the speed. The guys did a better job than that, but good day overall for Cadillac and we’ll go racing from there.”No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with best lap of 1:47.730 for pole: “The 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R was perfect today and all week and I’m happy to put the lap together that earned the pole for the 2-hour, 40-minute race. Everyone involved has done a fantastic job this year and I have to thank all my guys. It’s not done yet. Qualifying doesn’t mean much except for a few qualifying points that could count in the end. Anything you can do to try to extend a championship points lead is good for us. Coming into this race with a new tarmac you want to be ahead because it’s hard to overtake the GTs, so you can perhaps control the race a bit better. A lot can happen in the race; we know that in IMSA with the yellows and everything. We try to go session by session and I think we’ve been doing that quite well. The competition is very close, including the sister Cadillac V-Series.R, so there’s a lot we have to do to bring home a win tomorrow. I knew everything had to be nailed for qualifying to be able to start out front. We still have to execute perfectly despite starting out front.”

Inside second-row starting position could prove beneficial in push for season’s second win ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (Aug. 5, 2023) – Jordan Taylor put Corvette Racing on the inside of the second row in class Saturday for qualifying ahead of Sunday’s feature event for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America. Taylor set a best lap of 2:03.143 (118.340 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R that he shares with Antonio Garcia in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class. Critically, the result put Taylor and the No. 3 C8.R on the inside of the second row of the GTD field on a track that is much more of a one-lane surface following a track repave late last year.

Just as key is that the Corvette gained critical class points as it qualified ahead of the GTD PRO championship-leading Lexus. The Taylor/Garcia duo, Corvette Racing and Chevrolet entered Road America second in the Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams championship standings with four races left in the season. A victory Sunday would be the ninth class at the circuit for Corvette Racing. This is the first time for the Corvette program on the recently repaved Road America track. Gone is the cheese-grater of a surface that promoted high levels of tire wear and degradation with high levels of grip available around the circuit… provided cars stay on the racing line. As a result, track position – and qualifying toward the front, as a result – has a higher level of importance this year compared to past Road America races. Key was cross-program tire analysis from Chevrolet’s IndyCar teams, which provided valuable input from their race in June at the circuit. That, combined with pre-event work at GM’s Driver in the Loop simulator, played a prominent role in the results so far this weekend. Road America and the Corvette brand have a lengthy history dating back nearly 60 years. Chevrolet routinely used the track to test and validate the performance of early-generation Corvettes with that tradition continuing into the present day. Road America was the site of the first on-track running of the Corvette C8.R in 2018. The IMSA SportsCar Weekend race at Road America is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 6. The race will air live on USA beginning at 11 a.m. ET and stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions beginning with Friday morning’s practice at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED THIRD IN GTD PRO: “We were quickest yesterday and made some gains in laptime from then, but everyone else made humongous jumps. We are where we thought we would be laptime-wise. It just wasn’t enough for pole. It’s kind of been the trend of the year where qualifying is a bit of struggle for us but we race better. Hopefully that plays out tomorrow. We’re closer in qualifying now than we have been the past few rounds, so hopefully that’s another good sign.”It’ll be tricky to race. Off-line around here is very slippery. Track position is very important and being somewhat defensive when guys are making moves not to be put in a precarious position is going to be tricky. There will be a lot of mistakes tomorrow because of that.”

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After seven of 11 events) Driver Standings1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 2,4622. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2,3113. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 2,3024. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 2,2815. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 2,083 Team Standings1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 2,4622. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2,3113. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 2,3024. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 2,2815. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 2,083 Manufacturer Standings1. Lexus – 2,4622. Chevrolet – 2,3113. Mercedes-AMG – 2,3024. Porsche – 2,2815. Aston Martin – 2,094 CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Road America since 2002 – Corvette C5-R (2002-2004), Corvette C6.R (2005-13), Corvette C7.R (2016-19) and Corvette C8.R (2020-current). This year’s race is the second at the track for the GTD-spec, mid-engine racing Corvette• 4: Number of cars Tommy Milner passed in the final 15 minutes of the 2016 Road America race. He and Oliver Gavin went on to win in class and capture the GTLM Drivers Championship• 8: Number of victories at Road America for Corvette Racing, the most of any entrant in IMSA• 8: Pole positions at Road America for Corvette Racing by four different drivers• 10: Number of drivers who have won races at Road America for Corvette Racing – Gavin (four); Olivier Beretta (three); Johnny O’Connell (two); and Kelly Collins, Ron Fellows, Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, Milner, Andy Pilgrim and Jordan Taylor (one each)• 12: Fastest race laps for Corvette Racing drivers at Road America. That includes the last three of the last four seasons: Tommy Milner (2019 and 2021) and Antonio Garcia (2020)• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 14: Number of IMSA victories at Road America for Chevrolet, the second-most of any manufacturer in IMSA• 22: Number of Road America events for Corvette Racing counting this year’s IMSA race• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship• 126: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, eight at Le Mans and one in the FIA WEC• 278: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 12,395.03: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 20 previous trips to Road America. That represents 3,054 laps or 105 trips across Lake Michigan.• 359,327.91: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back! Corvette Racing at Road America (wins in bold)2002No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole; Gavin fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS 2003No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 5th in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2004No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Beretta pole, fastest race lap) 2005No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 (Gavin pole, Beretta fastest race lap) 2006No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2007No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 2008No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 3rd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2009No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 3rd in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 6th in GT2 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell – 4th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT2 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2011No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 14th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 5th in GT 2012No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GT 2013No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GT 2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GTLM (5th to 1st in final 15 minutes) 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTLM (Gavin pole, Milner fastest race lap) 2020No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM 2021No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM (Taylor pole)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GTLM (Milner fastest race lap) 2022No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3rd in GTD PRO

NASCAR CUP SERIES MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 5, 2023

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Michigan International Speedway. Press conference transcript:

YOU COME INTO SUNDAY 40 POINTS OUTSIDE THE PLAYOFFS, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT THINGS. DO YOU TRY AND MAXIMIZE STAGE POINTS OR DO YOU HAVE TO GO ALL IN FOR THE RACE WIN?  “My stance has been the same since I got back.  I think we need to win. So, and like I have said a thousand times since I have been back, I think gaining a lot of points and contending for wins is very much one in the same.  It’s not coincidence that the guys that are high up in points have race wins, but they are also leading the regular season thing, or whatever it’s called, too. Those things go hand in hand. If you are gaining a lot of points, you are probably going to have a shot to win. And if you are not, then you are probably not going to have a shot to win. So, I think those are one in the same.” IS THERE SOMETHING WE COULD ADD TO THIS CAR THAT WOULD OPEN THINGS UP TO THE RACING A BIT? “That is a great question, and I am not familiar with the INDYCAR rules at all. I know that they were first to the spec car thing and I had heard that what we were doing was more in line with what they had going on or what they had going on. But I don’t know. I don’t know what you open up. I think this is really what NASCAR as a sanctioning body wants. That they want a lot of control over the cars. And they want to have parts suppliers and have the teams buy parts instead of building them. I think the thought was that it was going to save a lot of money, you know. And I will let other people answer whether or not that, that is true. I don’t know what you open up to make it better or worse. I am not really sure.  But I do know this, the cars are very much alike. It’s so funny like every week we do our post-race debriefs and the engine shop comes up with a really nice report for us to look at while we are talking through our race and it kind of splits up like part throttle, full throttle, closed throttle, and like the four of us are like within a percent of each category. When those things are the same, it’s just going to be really hard to be different. I just don’t see it changing.” REGARDING RACING AT BERLIN IN A SUPER LATE MODEL “Yeah, I have run more this year than I have in the past….I don’t know how many years.  So, I am looking forward to it. We have been working at it much like the Cup side, just trying to get a little better and trying to get some momentum on that side of things too.  So, I am looking forward to going to Berlin, its been a little while since I have been there and I am looking forward to getting back to a really unique and weird short track I have run at a few times.  But looking forward to getting up there, it’s a good show, a good mid-week show and a place that seemingly has a lot of support from the local community that I remember. Always great crowds and they put up a nice purse too, which in the asphalt world is a big deal in my opinion. So, I think its important for the racers to go and support those shows that put up a lot of money to win, when they do, because it doesn’t happen all the time. I am excited to go and support it and try to get a win.” REGARDING HOW MUCH TO READ INTO THE RACE THIS WEEKEND AS A MEASURING STICK FOR THE PLAYOFFS “That is a great question, and it is kind of your last sample of what would be a normal race track I guess.  So, that is a very valid question, but I am just trying to think back to last year and it seems like all the Gibbs cars were really strong here last year as a whole. I think at some tracks, the characteristics here might carry forward and I am not sure that all of them necessarily are that way. I would say that its not unfair to say that this is our last normal opportunity to show what you have or don’t have, but I do think this place is very unique and it is its own animal. You kind of look at it and you think maybe its like Fontana, but its really not at all like Fontana.  I never had a chance to race here at the old surface, so this is all I have really known ever since I have been running. This place has always been kind of its own world. I do think it is the last normal look, I guess, but at the same time, this place is very different. I wouldn’t read to terrible far into it.” REGARDING WATKINS GLEN AND LOOKING AT IT FOR A WIN BASED ON PAST SUCCESS “Yeah, I have said this, I don’t circle races. That is not how I operate. I just take it week to week and try to get better.  Like I have told you guys a thousand times, and I will make it a thousand and one, I just want to be a guy that can go and contend every week and be in the running wherever we go.  Whether it is a half mile, road course, two-mile speedway, I don’t want to care. I don’t want to care where we are going. That is where I want to get. I will keep working really hard until we can achieve that.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET A GOOD ENTRY INTO TURN ONE AT WATKINS GLEN TO SET UP THE ENTIRE LAP? “I think it definitely matters.  I think about it more in terms of a restart and track position is extremely important. You know, it’s really difficult to pass the leader there, especially now. So, the game has changed. Used to, it was all about how good of a launch you got, but now its about who is pushing you and how good of a push you are going to get.  So, you are almost better off having a bad launch and the person behind you getting to you sooner than you are doing a good job of getting a good go at it. That is just the game that it’s turned into.” CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE MICHIGAN TRACK TO US? “Yeah, I can try. When I say that, I think I am more referring to….heck, I don’t know what year this thing was paved, but it had to be 2012, 11, somewhere in there.  Correct me if I am wrong, but that would be around my guess.  Whatever asphalt they used, I wish they used it on the roads and the highways around the United States because it just doesn’t seem to age.  It doesn’t seem to give away a lot of grip. It is changing color a little bit, but it certainly doesn’t seem like it has become anymore abrasive, or the grip level has gone down any. For that reason, the middle of the track is the dominant place on the road. The bottom is too flat to run at pace for a lengthy period of time. And the middle, because of the way the track is shaped, is the fastest way through and it has enough banking to make it work. I think the hope is, and I think it will age eventually, is to keep working it up and have a wider racing groove with the right amount of banking to run. I think that is what they are trying to achieve with the grippy stuff, and trying to promote us moving up. Yeah, it’s just that the place has a lot of grip. Still very fast and hasn’t really seemed to change. We will see if its any different this weekend, but I kind of doubt it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 5, 2023

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Michigan International Speedway. Press conference transcript:

YOU COME INTO SUNDAY 40 POINTS OUTSIDE THE PLAYOFFS, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT THINGS. DO YOU TRY AND MAXIMIZE STAGE POINTS OR DO YOU HAVE TO GO ALL IN FOR THE RACE WIN?  “My stance has been the same since I got back.  I think we need to win. So, and like I have said a thousand times since I have been back, I think gaining a lot of points and contending for wins is very much one in the same.  It’s not coincidence that the guys that are high up in points have race wins, but they are also leading the regular season thing, or whatever it’s called, too. Those things go hand in hand. If you are gaining a lot of points, you are probably going to have a shot to win. And if you are not, then you are probably not going to have a shot to win. So, I think those are one in the same.” IS THERE SOMETHING WE COULD ADD TO THIS CAR THAT WOULD OPEN THINGS UP TO THE RACING A BIT? “That is a great question, and I am not familiar with the INDYCAR rules at all. I know that they were first to the spec car thing and I had heard that what we were doing was more in line with what they had going on or what they had going on. But I don’t know. I don’t know what you open up. I think this is really what NASCAR as a sanctioning body wants. That they want a lot of control over the cars. And they want to have parts suppliers and have the teams buy parts instead of building them. I think the thought was that it was going to save a lot of money, you know. And I will let other people answer whether or not that, that is true. I don’t know what you open up to make it better or worse. I am not really sure.  But I do know this, the cars are very much alike. It’s so funny like every week we do our post-race debriefs and the engine shop comes up with a really nice report for us to look at while we are talking through our race and it kind of splits up like part throttle, full throttle, closed throttle, and like the four of us are like within a percent of each category. When those things are the same, it’s just going to be really hard to be different. I just don’t see it changing.” REGARDING RACING AT BERLIN IN A SUPER LATE MODEL “Yeah, I have run more this year than I have in the past….I don’t know how many years.  So, I am looking forward to it. We have been working at it much like the Cup side, just trying to get a little better and trying to get some momentum on that side of things too.  So, I am looking forward to going to Berlin, its been a little while since I have been there and I am looking forward to getting back to a really unique and weird short track I have run at a few times.  But looking forward to getting up there, it’s a good show, a good mid-week show and a place that seemingly has a lot of support from the local community that I remember. Always great crowds and they put up a nice purse too, which in the asphalt world is a big deal in my opinion. So, I think its important for the racers to go and support those shows that put up a lot of money to win, when they do, because it doesn’t happen all the time. I am excited to go and support it and try to get a win.” REGARDING HOW MUCH TO READ INTO THE RACE THIS WEEKEND AS A MEASURING STICK FOR THE PLAYOFFS “That is a great question, and it is kind of your last sample of what would be a normal race track I guess.  So, that is a very valid question, but I am just trying to think back to last year and it seems like all the Gibbs cars were really strong here last year as a whole. I think at some tracks, the characteristics here might carry forward and I am not sure that all of them necessarily are that way. I would say that its not unfair to say that this is our last normal opportunity to show what you have or don’t have, but I do think this place is very unique and it is its own animal. You kind of look at it and you think maybe its like Fontana, but its really not at all like Fontana.  I never had a chance to race here at the old surface, so this is all I have really known ever since I have been running. This place has always been kind of its own world. I do think it is the last normal look, I guess, but at the same time, this place is very different. I wouldn’t read to terrible far into it.” REGARDING WATKINS GLEN AND LOOKING AT IT FOR A WIN BASED ON PAST SUCCESS “Yeah, I have said this, I don’t circle races. That is not how I operate. I just take it week to week and try to get better.  Like I have told you guys a thousand times, and I will make it a thousand and one, I just want to be a guy that can go and contend every week and be in the running wherever we go.  Whether it is a half mile, road course, two-mile speedway, I don’t want to care. I don’t want to care where we are going. That is where I want to get. I will keep working really hard until we can achieve that.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET A GOOD ENTRY INTO TURN ONE AT WATKINS GLEN TO SET UP THE ENTIRE LAP? “I think it definitely matters.  I think about it more in terms of a restart and track position is extremely important. You know, it’s really difficult to pass the leader there, especially now. So, the game has changed. Used to, it was all about how good of a launch you got, but now its about who is pushing you and how good of a push you are going to get.  So, you are almost better off having a bad launch and the person behind you getting to you sooner than you are doing a good job of getting a good go at it. That is just the game that it’s turned into.” CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE MICHIGAN TRACK TO US? “Yeah, I can try. When I say that, I think I am more referring to….heck, I don’t know what year this thing was paved, but it had to be 2012, 11, somewhere in there.  Correct me if I am wrong, but that would be around my guess.  Whatever asphalt they used, I wish they used it on the roads and the highways around the United States because it just doesn’t seem to age.  It doesn’t seem to give away a lot of grip. It is changing color a little bit, but it certainly doesn’t seem like it has become anymore abrasive, or the grip level has gone down any. For that reason, the middle of the track is the dominant place on the road. The bottom is too flat to run at pace for a lengthy period of time. And the middle, because of the way the track is shaped, is the fastest way through and it has enough banking to make it work. I think the hope is, and I think it will age eventually, is to keep working it up and have a wider racing groove with the right amount of banking to run. I think that is what they are trying to achieve with the grippy stuff, and trying to promote us moving up. Yeah, it’s just that the place has a lot of grip. Still very fast and hasn’t really seemed to change. We will see if its any different this weekend, but I kind of doubt it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 5, 2023

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 KWIK TRIP/KWIK STAR CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Michigan International Speedway. Press conference transcript:

I HAVE TO KICK IT OFF LIGHTHEARTED AND ASK YOU ABOUT SRX AND JOEY LOGANO JUMPING ON THE RADIO DURING THE BROADCAST. WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR HEAD THE MOMENT YOU HEARD HIS VOICE? “What the hell (laughs).. that was probably the first thing. But after that, I don’t even remember what he asked me – but we were kind of in a little cat-and-mouse game, I guess that’s what he brought up with Brad (Keselowski) and just kind of trying to figure out how hard to push and what to do at that point in the race knowing there were still a couple cautions coming. You just kind of try to take care of your stuff and pace yourself. And then that’s right when Helio was on the bout to go to the front and take the lead. He nudged me and got by me, so thankfully Joey (Logano) was on my radio, so it was his fault that I lost the spot. But we were able to make it back up later. I wish he would have come back on the radio later when I was on some of those restarts. He could have spotted for me, that would have been good.” HE ACTUALLY SAID ON THE BROADCAST WITH TWO-TO-GO – HE THOUGHT ABOUT JUMPING BACK ON YOUR RADIO, BUT FIGURED THAT WAS A BAD TIME TO DO IT. ARE YOU GOING TO INVITE HIM BACK TO BE A SPOTTER ANYTIME SOON? “Yeah, it was fine – I mean it doesn’t matter if it’s him, or Kevin or Connor, whoever else they have up in the booth there with SRX. It’s always just kind of lighthearted, so it’s fun. It’s kind of neat that they do that. There’s no money on the line, there’s no points on the line.. none of that stuff, so obviously it’s not quite as serious as our Sunday job.” HEADING DOWN THE LAST TWO RACES AND SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE OF WHAT SRX IS DOING WILL LOOK LIKE? WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE, WHAT DO YOU REALLY LIKE, STUFF LIKE THAT? “Honestly, I feel like they’ve got a pretty good program on what they’re doing. I know it’s really tough on the guys and the girls who work behind the scenes and do all the stuff with preparing the cars, working on the cars. Fortunately Berlin was a decent race – about the only work they really have to do is clean out the burnout rubber from my car this week. There’s 12 cars, you could probably do 16, at least. It would be cool to see more cars. It think that it’s OK when you have some calamity and some crashes and stuff like that, as long as everybody is keeping safe. (David) Stremme had a throttle stick in one of the test cars the other day and he wailed the wall and he was okay.  (Tony) Kanan destroyed the fence too at Stafford.  So, the cars do have some good safety aspects to them, which is nice. We are at short tracks, so its not going 180 miles an hour, you know? We are going 100 to 120 maybe. Its just cool that they have all the short tracks that they go to and there are a lot of great short tracks across the country that would be really fun to watch those cars go around at. You know, Richmond might actually be too big of a racetrack to go to for those cars. You could put on a race there but I believe it would be too big of a speedway.  The short track, half mile and under are a really good place for them.” REGARDING WHAT TO DO TO THE NEXT GEN CAR TO OPEN IT UP AND CREATE A LITTLE BIT OF A SPEED DESPARITY“I don’t know.  The biggest thing for me that I feel like is a hindrance to the car in traffic and all that kind of stuff is the under body. They wanted a flat sheet across the bottom so it’s the same for everybody that they don’t have to police, but honestly, I think that is our biggest detriment with this car.  We all talk about over body, under body, aero and this and that for years.  Tens of years. And we all thought the under body aero was the way to go, but honestly, we have gone backwards.  It’s worse in traffic. So, I feel like that stems from that and to get rid of that and just have over body and what all we do there.  The cars are all the same and you buy them from the same supplier and everything else, so they are homologated basically. They have a scanning device that scans the floors, so why don’t we just scan the bottom of the cars without a pan. And all the rough surfaces and everything else under the bottom of the car. But that is kind of my thing, and I don’t know if that makes any more discrepancy between the field on speed. I think that is just a traffic thing in my opinion.” YOU GUYS MOVED BREXTON UP A DIVISON. WAS IT TIME TO CHALLENGE HIM?“So, the Midwest Swing, that is what we call it, and that is what we are on.  When we go to some of these places, as competitive as Millbridge is….Millbridge is cadet class is basically their beginner box class, anywhere else.  So, last year we ran the beginner box class and we won at Wisconsin, and we should have won at Iowa, but we go put on burn with two to go. So, I figured this year, you know, if he wants to kind of step up and move up to the older kids’ class and run with the older kids. Because that is more so his grouping of talent with the other kids in the Midwest. I don’t know if they just don’t race as much or what, but the competition at Millbridge is the highest anywhere.  If you can win at Millbridge, you can win anywhere. I have had multiple dads tell me that and it’s true. So, I feel like the best kids in the country are there, so when we go out of town, we will bump up a class.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET THROUGH TURNS ONE AT INDY AND TURN ONE AT WATKINS GLEN SO YOU DON’T SCREW UP YOUR WHOLE LAP?“Yeah, talking about cars being close and similar and hard to pass and all that…..that’s your time to make up time on the restarts.  Right then and there. Once you get through the first three or four corners, its over. So, that is why you see so many aggressive moves, dive bombs, and all that stuff on restarts, is to make up.  If you can get two spots right now, then that is two spots that you are better than you were.  So, for Indy, I bet I missed it in the drivers meeting here at 10 O’clock this morning, I was still sleeping, so trying to catch up from a long week, but where the restart zone is and stuff like that to try to get us a little bit singled out. I felt like the restarts at Chicago were perfect. I thought that was a really good idea. We had an acceleration zone right before a corner and then we were single file so it all kind of kept us a little bit away from each other and it was good, clean racing. Once you could make up time on a guy and out brake a guy, you did that.  It wasn’t just four wide down a straightaway funneling into a one lane corner.” REGARDING THE TRUCK SERIES AND THE NEW TV PACKAGE HELPING THE SERIES“No, I voiced my opinion on what I feel. But I don’t foresee it changing, so we will just see what happens down the road and what new TV deal there is and what that means. But I honestly don’t think it’s going to be a significant enough change to make a difference and we will see what we can do with our team going forward. We have my part time races, my five races next year and we have the rest of the truck still open for next year and figure out what we are going to do from that respect. But Purdy will be back, and Sanchez will be back, so we are pretty good with where we are at.”

Bayston scores fifth career World of Outlaws win and builds confidence for Saturday’s IronmanPEVELY, MO (Aug. 5, 2023) – A winless drought can cause doubt to form for even the strongest teams. Such was the case for Spencer Bayston, heading into the Ironman weekend with a winless streak dating back to June 2022.The 2022 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year never lost faith. But doubt asked when, and if, a win would come again.Confidence answered, Friday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for the Night Before The Ironman.While cut nine laps short due to an incident with the track fence, Bayston had already made himself untouchable in Feature. After taking the lead on Lap 5, he gapped the field by seconds, leading to he and CJB Motorsports’ first win of the season.“You start to wonder if you can win again,” Bayston said. “You know, it’s been over a year. We have all the tools. We have great partners. Great members and a phenomenal car owner with Chad Clemens. There’re times you start to question yourself. Just to get his out of the way feels really, really good.”When it came time for the Feature, Cole Macedo started pole with David Gravel – the championship points leader entering the night – to his outside. Macedo darted ahead of the field in the first corner while Gravel looked to have an anchored tied to him and fell to fourth on the opening lap.Brad Sweet moved up to second and Bayston wasn’t far behind in third. “The Big Cat” bicycled on the second lap, allowing Bayston to dive underneath him and steal the spot.Two laps later, Macedo had his own scare, hitting a rut and bouncing all four wheels off the track. Like the camo on his #5 car, Bayston then made the pass for the lead so quick Macedo couldn’t have even seen it coming.Once the CJB machine was in clear air out front, it was in a class of its own. Behind it, Sweet and Giovanni Scelzi soared by Macedo before sparring for second. The two traded attacks lap after lap, eventually letting James McFadden join in on the fight.“Hot Sauce” won the battle and soon after benefited from a caution on Lap 19, erasing the four second lead Bayston had over him.When the race resumed, Bayston pulled ahead but Scelzi wasn’t letting him out of his sight. However, the brewing battle was halted when Corey Day flipped into the Turn 4 fence, bringing out the red flag. With the fence damage too severe to fix for the night, the race was deemed complete.Bayston’s drought was finally over.“It feels so good,” Bayston said about getting his fifth career World of Outlaws win. “I know that’s not the normal, conventional, way to do it, but I was certainly happy for that one to be over. But I was so confident with my car and with what [my CJB Motorsports team] did with it there before the Feature to give me a car that was versatile and could move around through traffic and could battle. I was confident if we ran that one out, I could keep cutting my laps and we’d be in good shape.”Scelzi had to settle for second, his second top-five finish in a row and third podium of the season.“Good call to end the race; smart call by the officials,” Scelzi said.Sweet finished third, adding to his insane I-55 statistics. Now, in 16 starts at the 1/3-mile track, he has 14 podium finishes.With Gravel finishing eighth, Sweet also reclaimed the points lead – making for the ninth lead change of the season. The Grass Valley, CA driver now leads Gravel by two-points going into Saturday’s Ironman 55.While the $20,000-to-win, 55-lap, spectacle is one of the most grueling races of the year, there’s at least one driver entering with no doubtful questions. Only confident answers.The Night’s Notebook: The KSE Racing Hard Charger was Logan Schuchart.The night’s Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award went to David Gravel for the eighth time in 2023 and the 105th time of his career.CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat 1 went to Cole Macedo (first Heat Race win of career). NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Four were claimed by James McFadden (43rd of career), Brad Sweet (229th of career), and Giovanni Scelzi (33rd of career).Cole Macedo topped the Toyota Racing Dash.Jamie Veal topped the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take on the Ironman 55 finale at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Saturday, Aug. 5, with $20,000 going to the winner. The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets presented by Toyota will also be on the card vying for a $5,000 victory. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.RESULTS NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 5-Spencer Bayston[3]; 2. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet[4]; 4. 83-James McFadden[6]; 5. 21T-Cole Macedo[1]; 6. 11-Cory Eliason[7]; 7. 20G-Noah Gass[9]; 8. 2-David Gravel[2]; 9. 15-Donny Schatz[10]; 10. 45-Rusty Hickman[12]; 11. 41-Carson Macedo[11]; 12. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[13]; 13. 14-Corey Day[15]; 14. 31-Zach Daum[16]; 15. 51B-Joe B Miller[14]; 16. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[17]; 17. 17AU-Jamie Veal[21]; 18. 7S-Robbie Price[19]; 19. 97-Scotty Milan[23]; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart[25]; 21. 101-Cody Maroske[18]; 22. 22-Riley Goodno[24]; 23. 7A-Will Armitage[20]; 24. (DNF) 1A-Jacob Allen[22]; 25. (DNS) 17-Sheldon Haudenschild

Bayston scores fifth career World of Outlaws win and builds confidence for Saturday’s IronmanPEVELY, MO (Aug. 5, 2023) – A winless drought can cause doubt to form for even the strongest teams. Such was the case for Spencer Bayston, heading into the Ironman weekend with a winless streak dating back to June 2022.The 2022 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year never lost faith. But doubt asked when, and if, a win would come again.Confidence answered, Friday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for the Night Before The Ironman.While cut nine laps short due to an incident with the track fence, Bayston had already made himself untouchable in Feature. After taking the lead on Lap 5, he gapped the field by seconds, leading to he and CJB Motorsports’ first win of the season.“You start to wonder if you can win again,” Bayston said. “You know, it’s been over a year. We have all the tools. We have great partners. Great members and a phenomenal car owner with Chad Clemens. There’re times you start to question yourself. Just to get his out of the way feels really, really good.”When it came time for the Feature, Cole Macedo started pole with David Gravel – the championship points leader entering the night – to his outside. Macedo darted ahead of the field in the first corner while Gravel looked to have an anchored tied to him and fell to fourth on the opening lap.Brad Sweet moved up to second and Bayston wasn’t far behind in third. “The Big Cat” bicycled on the second lap, allowing Bayston to dive underneath him and steal the spot.Two laps later, Macedo had his own scare, hitting a rut and bouncing all four wheels off the track. Like the camo on his #5 car, Bayston then made the pass for the lead so quick Macedo couldn’t have even seen it coming.Once the CJB machine was in clear air out front, it was in a class of its own. Behind it, Sweet and Giovanni Scelzi soared by Macedo before sparring for second. The two traded attacks lap after lap, eventually letting James McFadden join in on the fight.“Hot Sauce” won the battle and soon after benefited from a caution on Lap 19, erasing the four second lead Bayston had over him.When the race resumed, Bayston pulled ahead but Scelzi wasn’t letting him out of his sight. However, the brewing battle was halted when Corey Day flipped into the Turn 4 fence, bringing out the red flag. With the fence damage too severe to fix for the night, the race was deemed complete.Bayston’s drought was finally over.“It feels so good,” Bayston said about getting his fifth career World of Outlaws win. “I know that’s not the normal, conventional, way to do it, but I was certainly happy for that one to be over. But I was so confident with my car and with what [my CJB Motorsports team] did with it there before the Feature to give me a car that was versatile and could move around through traffic and could battle. I was confident if we ran that one out, I could keep cutting my laps and we’d be in good shape.”Scelzi had to settle for second, his second top-five finish in a row and third podium of the season.“Good call to end the race; smart call by the officials,” Scelzi said.Sweet finished third, adding to his insane I-55 statistics. Now, in 16 starts at the 1/3-mile track, he has 14 podium finishes.With Gravel finishing eighth, Sweet also reclaimed the points lead – making for the ninth lead change of the season. The Grass Valley, CA driver now leads Gravel by two-points going into Saturday’s Ironman 55.While the $20,000-to-win, 55-lap, spectacle is one of the most grueling races of the year, there’s at least one driver entering with no doubtful questions. Only confident answers.The Night’s Notebook: The KSE Racing Hard Charger was Logan Schuchart.The night’s Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award went to David Gravel for the eighth time in 2023 and the 105th time of his career.CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat 1 went to Cole Macedo (first Heat Race win of career). NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Four were claimed by James McFadden (43rd of career), Brad Sweet (229th of career), and Giovanni Scelzi (33rd of career).Cole Macedo topped the Toyota Racing Dash.Jamie Veal topped the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take on the Ironman 55 finale at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Saturday, Aug. 5, with $20,000 going to the winner. The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets presented by Toyota will also be on the card vying for a $5,000 victory. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.RESULTS NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 5-Spencer Bayston[3]; 2. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet[4]; 4. 83-James McFadden[6]; 5. 21T-Cole Macedo[1]; 6. 11-Cory Eliason[7]; 7. 20G-Noah Gass[9]; 8. 2-David Gravel[2]; 9. 15-Donny Schatz[10]; 10. 45-Rusty Hickman[12]; 11. 41-Carson Macedo[11]; 12. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[13]; 13. 14-Corey Day[15]; 14. 31-Zach Daum[16]; 15. 51B-Joe B Miller[14]; 16. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[17]; 17. 17AU-Jamie Veal[21]; 18. 7S-Robbie Price[19]; 19. 97-Scotty Milan[23]; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart[25]; 21. 101-Cody Maroske[18]; 22. 22-Riley Goodno[24]; 23. 7A-Will Armitage[20]; 24. (DNF) 1A-Jacob Allen[22]; 25. (DNS) 17-Sheldon Haudenschild

McIntosh finishes eighth, Avedisian third, points gap down to 24 in standings

PEVELY, MO (Aug. 4, 2023) – It takes every bit of heart, skill and speed to master Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 against some of the best national Midget racers in the country. Karter Sarff showed he had each of those qualities Friday night as he, for the first time in his career, triumphed over the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

Sarff, 20, of Mason City, IL, took the lead from multi-time POWRi National Midget League champion Zach Daum in the early going and led the rest of the way to collect the $4,000 grand prize in the Night Before the Ironman.

“It’s pretty insane,” Sarff said. “It’s starting to sink-in now that we’re in tech here. It’s pretty awesome; I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m pretty pumped.”

A run so strong, Sarff even gained a bit of respect from the first man he beat.

“He ran a good race; he ran a smart race,” Daum said. “He ran as hard as he could and still was able to keep the tires underneath him and not turn over, not bounce, not bike, not make mistakes. He ran an awesome race, you gotta give him credit.”

Sarff took the lead from polesitter Daum on Lap 7 with a pass coming out of Turn 2. He wound it up on the curb in the middle of the track and threw it into Turn 1 with force, pointed his Provisio Partners #21K to the inside of Daum coming out of Turn 2 and zoomed past the veteran racer for the top spot.

“It’s the diamond line,” Sarff said. “I was just gassing it up and ripping tearoffs. I got a good run on him and was able to clear him. Luckily, it stuck, didn’t hit any big holes and I could pull away.”

“He was just driving so much harder than I was,” Daum said. “He was entering harder; he was getting through the center better. A couple times during the race I felt I could keep pace with him, but I just couldn’t keep pace with him every lap.”

From there on out, Sarff was in command. One caution flag and a red flag period after Xavier Doney’s wild ride in Turn 3 forced Sarff to survive two restarts with Series regulars Daum, Taylor Reimer and Jade Avedisian right on his tail. Still, the young Illinoisan held strong and at no point let his opponents get a chance to take away what is now the biggest win of his Midget racing career.

“I’m just glad I got it done with every single car here; [they’re] the best in the world,” Sarff said. “We beat ‘em all tonight and it just shows what our team can do.”

Daum, of Pocahontas, IL, was able to hang onto second for his seventh top-five finish in the last seven Series races. He said being smart about navigating the hammer-down track was the key to staying where he was in the final laps.

“I just tried to play it smart, not make any mistakes,” Daum. “I was just trying not to put myself in a position to bounce or get hit, or whatever.”

Daum did, briefly, lose the second spot in the closing laps to Avedisian but was able to get back by her in the next set of corners to retain second. In doing so, he found the bottom lane was a bit better than he originally anticipated but was too far into the race to make a significant push on the leader.

“I could’ve moved down to the bottom sooner than I did in Turns 3-4,” Daum said. “I kinda found the bottom, but it was too little, too late. I was just so scared to move, leading early and then running second. Just didn’t want to move and then get freight-trained.”

Avedisian crossed the stripe third to complete the podium after starting seventh. With her strong finish, the 16-year-old Californian now trails by only 24 points in the Series standings after points leader Cannon McIntosh’s eighth-place result.

UP NEXT

The Xtreme Outlaw and POWRi National Midgets wrap-up the Ironman 55 weekend alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars on Saturday, Aug. 5, with a $5,000-to-win main event.

Tickets will be available at the gate. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 21K-Karter Sarff[3]; 2. 7U-Zach Daum[1]; 3. 71-Jade Avedisian[7]; 4. 31-Chase Johnson[8]; 5. 25K-Taylor Reimer[2]; 6. 97K-Cooper Williams[9]; 7. 26-Chance Crum[10]; 8. 08-Cannon McIntosh[6]; 9. 40-Chase McDermand[4]; 10. 97-Gavin Miller[12]; 11. 44-Branigan Roark[14]; 12. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[18]; 13. 71E-Mariah Ede[13]; 14. 9-Xavier Doney[16]; 15. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[5]; 16. 56-Mitchell Davis[15]; 17. 77W-Joe Wirth[11]; 18. 31K-Jaxton Wiggs[17]

Ricky Thornton Jr. and Hudson O’Neal will start on the front row of Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finaleNEW RICHMOND, WI – August 4, 2023 – After fireworks entertained a packed Cedar Lake Speedway crowd, Chris Madden put on his own “Smokey” show. Night two of the USA Nationals saw Madden return to his winning ways at Cedar Lake, thundering around Hudson O’Neal for the lead on the first lap and never looking back, claiming his third World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series win of the season.  Madden, who started second, wasted no time getting to the front as the field took the green. In one swift move, “Smokey” drove around the outside of O’Neal, the pole sitter, in Turns 1 and 2. Not even a caution with four laps to go could stop him from there as he cruised to the $6,000 win.  The triumph is Madden’s first since Memorial Day weekend at Sharon Speedway—a track similar in size to Cedar Lake. He said he’s thankful for the supporters who stuck by him as he fought to return to Victory Lane.  “We had a real good racecar all night,” Madden said. “We were just a tick free in Qualifying, and I wasn’t able to get off of (Turn) 4 to get a better lap. We had a great car in the Heat Race in traffic, and then we had a great race car in the race tonight.   “We’ve been down a little bit. But my guys have been working extremely hard. I want to thank my whole team and all my sponsors for sticking behind us, and we appreciate all of them.”  While he’s happy with the win, he’s also looking ahead to Saturday’s 100-lap finale—a race the Gray Court, SC driver won in 2019.  “I know this place pretty well,” Madden said. “A hundred laps here; it takes some driving. So, we’ll see.”  Madden also cut the deficit in the chase for the World of Outlaws Late Models championship. He’s currently second in points, 92 points behind Bobby Pierce.  O’Neal crossed the line second—his fourth straight World of Outlaws top five. He lost the spot to English in traffic, before gaining it back on the restart following the race’s only caution for Jonathan Davenport on Lap 21. Despite missing out on the win, O’Neal said he felt Rocket1 Racing is gaining momentum toward Saturday’s finale.  “We’re building, man,” O’Neal said. “We’re getting a little bit better. It’s been long couple of months, and it’s been a long road trip. As much as I feel like we’re getting better, we’re starting to find our way back to where we were a couple of months ago.   “Tonight, we were just one spot short. But I feel like we have a really good race car. If we just keep building, then maybe we’ll have something for them tomorrow night.”  English finished third, earning his sixth podium finish of 2023. While he was in second, the Benton, KY driver closed in on Madden with 10 laps to go, but never had a chance to wrestle the lead away from the #44.   “We would’ve liked to have been a little better,” English said. “If our line hadn’t went away, we would’ve been alright. I had like a traction strip right in the middle of the racetrack and it kind of faded at the end, and it bit me. When it was gone, my car was gone. So, I have to figure out a little bit better deal to run through when it’s black.”  Ricky Thornton Jr. finished fourth, and Brian Shirley rounded out the top five.  After Friday’s Feature, the top 16 drivers in USA Nationals points are locked into Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale. Thornton and O’Neal will start on the front row for the 100-lap race after earning the most points over two nights.  Here are the 16 drivers locked into Saturday’s USA Nationals Feature: Ricky Thornton Jr.Hudson O’NealTanner EnglishBrandon SheppardBobby PierceBrian ShirleyShannon BabbDennis Erb Jr.Chris MaddenCade DillardDaulton WilsonJonathan DavenportJohnny ScottTyler ErbShane ClantonNick HoffmanUP NEXT:The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 5, for the final night of the 36th USA Nationals. Last Chance Showdowns and a Last Chance Qualifier will kick off the night before one driver earns $50,000 in the night’s 100-lap finale. If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model race live on DIRTVision.      CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Feature (25 Laps): 1. 44-Chris Madden[2]; 2. 1-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 3. 96V-Tanner English[3]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[8]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 7. B5-Brandon Sheppard[11]; 8. 9-Nick Hoffman[12]; 9. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 10. 32-Bobby Pierce[10]; 11. B1-Brent Larson[22]; 12. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 13. 19R-Ryan Gustin[20]; 14. 97-Cade Dillard[13]; 15. 1ST-Johnny Scott[16]; 16. 1T-Tyler Erb[15]; 17. 7-Drake Troutman[17]; 18. 25-Shane Clanton[26]; 19. 40B-Kyle Bronson[25]; 20. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[19]; 21. 174-Ethan Dotson[9]; 22. 8-Kyle Strickler[18]; 23. 49-Jonathan Davenport[14]; 24. 12-Ashton Winger[23]; 25. 15-Nick Anvelink[24]; 26. 11-Gordy Gundaker[27]; 27. 30-Todd Cooney[28]; 28. 8M-Dillon McCowan[21] FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER: Brent Larson [+11]

The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: CASE Construction Equipment (Official Construction Equipment), CASE No.1 Engine Oil™ (Official Oil and Lubricant), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Simpson Performance Products (Preferred Safety Gear Partner), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Toyota (Official Vehicle), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Fox Factory (Hard Charger Award), Low-E Insulation, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Swift Springs, and Wieland Metal Services (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Capital Race Cars, FIREBULL, Germfree, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, Rocket Chassis, and Sea Foam.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT AUGUST 4, 2023 WILL POWER TOPS FIRST BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX PRACTICEWill Power, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, topped the first practice session to open the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix with his fastest lap of 1:16.4042.Chevrolet was represented in the top-10 after the singular session of the day by Power, Arrow McLaren INDYCAR’s Alexander Rossi (third) and Pato O’Ward (fourth), as well as Power’s Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin (ninth).Despite making slight contact with the wall at the end of the session, Power was able to maintain the first position to end the Friday practice session on top of the leaderboard.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 PRACTICE RESULT:Pos.  Driver1st     Will Power3rd     Alexander Rossi4th     Pato O’Ward9th     Scott McLaughlin A second practice on the streets of Nashville kicks off Saturday morning activities for the NTT INDYCAR Series at 11:40 a.m. ET. Qualifications and the Firestone Fast Six for Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville take place following second practice, starting at 2:45 p.m. ET. A final practice will then wrap Saturday for the Chevrolet drivers and teams, starting at 6:25 p.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160. The 80-lap, 168-mile race Sunday, Aug. 6 will take the green flag at noon ET live on NBC.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“Pretty warm day here in Nashville, but overall the DEX Imaging Chevy felt pretty good. Just didn’t get a run on the green (alternate) tires, and had plenty of red flags at the end, but it feels just as good as last year which is a good thing. Car is really nice, so hopefully we can come back stronger tomorrow.” Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“It’s physical. After that first round, why would I say it’s not physical? But, it’s physical. Man, it’s physical.” At the end (of the session), what led to the contact with the wall?“I just locked on the way in, thought I was going to make it. Just did it really, I mean, it didn’t knock the suspension off but it was enough to, yeah. It’s not ideal. You found pace earlier than that. What is it you like about the setup that you have?“The car is really good. I think we’re in a good window. I think all of the cars are pretty similar. It’ll be about putting it all together when it counts.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“There’s not much change to the track other than a couple of walls in place a little differently from here to there. Compared to last year, I think it’s been a good start. We need to look more into it to see which direction we need to go to for qualifying, but as of now, we’re solid.” Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“I wasn’t super happy with Practice 1. It was a fairly difficult session, and I also didn’t get a run on the Firestone Reds. Red flags kind of left us with a question mark on those tires, but what are you going to do. Pato and Alexander seemed fairly happy. We kind of diverted on setup before the weekend to see which one was best, and I think mine definitely wasn’t, so we’ll probably go to one of their cars and go from there.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“It was a very good start to the weekend. We’re in the window. We know where the time to be found is, and we’ll just work on a couple things overnight and hopefully stay on top of the conditions as they change tomorrow.” Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“Decent start to the weekend for the team. Pato (O’Ward) and Alexander (Rossi) are right up there in the mix. We have a little more to find, but we’ll get to work on that. Felix (Rosenqvist) was a little bit less comfortable in the car, but the good news is that he has a couple good references to look at in his teammates, so I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

WILL POWER, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet – End of Day Press Conference:THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up first practice session. Joined now by the two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, Will Power. Good start to the weekend, Will. Your thoughts? WILL POWER: Yeah, good start. Certainly had good cars here last year. Just the race is a very different story to being quick in practice and qualifying. Yep, good start. Long weekend. But very determined to start at the front. That’s been the issue. Starting at the front in Iowa is okay, but it’s very easy to pass there. If I wasn’t the first across the line in Toronto, would have been starting certainly better than sixth, maybe first. Then you have a legitimate shot at the win, otherwise you don’t. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Will. Q. Last race on this quirky layout. From a driver standpoint, would it mean anything to kind of conquer this type of layout before you go to the new layout next year?WILL POWER: Just to win a race in this series is just a big deal, so… Winning a race would be amazing. Yeah, I was blown away at the announcement yesterday. I actually didn’t know that, that we’d be going down what’s the name of the street – Broadway – yeah, that’s pretty special, pretty cool. It will be a big finale. A lot of celebration afterwards with all those bars around. Q. How is your thumb? Did that actually damage the car at all?WILL POWER: Yeah, it didn’t look like it, but I would change the front corner. They’ll probably change it. You can’t sort of have a hit like that. Just got it, locked up a bit, boom.Yeah, thumb is good. Q. Since it didn’t bend or break anything, does that actually make it worse? Had it not broken, would have gotten all that force to your hand?WILL POWER: I think if you break it, you’re probably in harder. When it grabs, goes all the way around, it’s sort of… I think it did it quick. Got the end there. Wasn’t terrible. Yeah, it’s fine. It’s fine. Just a little tight. Q. You were also the fastest guy in the session, by a quarter of a second.WILL POWER: A lot of the quick guys did get a run on their reds. But greens… And I was pushing, yeah. I haven’t been down runoffs this year. Trying to push the limit a little bit.It was the second run, too. It surprised me that happened. Maybe it was ’cause it was the first lap, but… I didn’t go crazy deep. I just sort of grabbed the front, yeah, got to the wall. Q. What is it like trying to game plan this race when two winners had six stops?WILL POWER: Yeah, you can’t. There’s just really nothing you can do. It’s just like luck of the draw when it’s like that, when it’s that crazy. Just one sort of yellow, yeah, you could try to play it safe. Man, you could start last and win it maybe the way it’s been easy. Maybe it goes completely normal. I thought that’s what would happen last year. Just didn’t. Surprised me. Just didn’t. Q. Colton (Herta) was telling us last night that leading here isn’t fun because you’re waiting for something to go wrong.WILL POWER: Yeah, you would expect there’s going to be a yellow. Just expect it. I mean, it’s unfortunate if you’re leading, but just know that’s going to be the deal.Yeah, I’ve got a good pit box for yellow flag stops. If it goes full course, we’ve got a good pit box. Q. It seems that at Mid-Ohio and Toronto the drivers have favored the primary tires over the alternates. What do you think would be the best strategy here? Do you remember what you did last year?WILL POWER: Tires have been a bit softer this year, so it’s almost taking the soft tires out of play a bit. Sort of get them on, get rid of them. Whether you do that in the first stint, middle or last stint, depending on your risk level. If you’re starting way back there, you might start on them. If it goes yellow, get straight off them, pit, take them… I mean, yeah, it’s kind of made the strategies mixed up. Been interesting, yeah. Q. Was there any grinding to take away any of the bumps from last year?WILL POWER: It’s the same, similar. The transition going into turn four is pretty good. Yeah, still the same, man. It’s pretty rough. When you’re at top speed and turning, you get roll bottoming. That’s where it’s really starting to hurt. Otherwise not terrible. It’s just those two spots, which is the end of the straights basically where you actually are having to turn, not just go straight. Q. This is the one-year anniversary with the new tire. Does it amaze you they handle about as well as the reds did?WILL POWER: Yeah, didn’t seem to be any compromise. I think it’s just the sidewall. Yeah, not surprised. Q. The fact that Firestone has been able to really develop a tire, it’s a safe tire but it also degrades over a run, which helps safety and competition, the ability for engineers to be able to do that, does that amaze you sometimes?WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s really important for us to have degradation. Just makes the racing better. They can make a tire that lasts forever, because they’re really good at what they do. I think they’re bringing a really good combination right now. Q. I heard during the broadcast a comment I haven’t heard before. Could you maybe comment on that. It was mentioned how the track drives differently when you go over the bridge as opposed to when you come back over the bridge. Do you notice a difference yourself?WILL POWER: The seam is a lot harsher coming back away from the city. You get a lot more bottoming heading to the braking zone. Just slightly different.Yeah, probably just going further off the bridge. That’s why you go into a dip. Sort of bottoms even more, yeah. They’re harsh bumps come the second time over. It’s hard. You feel it.

Both Cadillac V-Series.Rs top time sheet in practice on the 4-mile course

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 4, 2023) – Cadillac Racing recorded the quickest lap times in free practice 1 and 2 – with different Cadillac V-Series.Rs holding the top spot on the time sheet – in preparation for the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America. Pipo Derani took over the seat in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R from Alexander Sims midway through the 90-minute afternoon session and posted the best lap of Grand Touring Prototype cars at 1 minute, 47.986 seconds on the recently resurfaced 4-mile, 14-turn road course.

His 34th and final lap time pipped Sebastien Bourdais, who registered a best lap of 1:48.187 in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R. Bourdais and teammate Renger van der Zande topped the time sheet in the morning session (1:49.538), with the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R second (1:49.592). Derani and Sims enter the 2-hour, 40-minute race atop the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP standings. Cadillac leads the Manufacturer Championship standings. Cadillac Racing posted eight podium finishes at Road America in the DPi era, including victory in 2021 (Derani, Felipe Nasr).

Media resources Road America guide:* Cadillac Racing statistics* DPi history at the track* Driver, team bios* What makes the car tick* Design influences Photos for editorial use:* Driver headshots* Driver candids

Bourdais and van der Zande earned a podium result at Road America in 2022 – one place behind the runner-up finish of the sister Cadillac DPi-V.R driven by Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn. Van der Zande has also driven to third place in 2021 and second in 2020 in the Cadillac DPi-V.R at Road America.The live USA Network telecast and Peacock streaming of the race starts at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 6. Outside the U.S., streaming will be available at IMSA.com/TVLive. IMSA Radio at IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com plus SiriusXM live (XM 207, Web/App 992) broadcast of the race also starts at 11 a.m.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais following the first practice in which he posted the quickest lap: “It’s just a very different from the Road America from what we knew. I think it will get better after time. On the INDYCAR weekend it must have been really exciting because basically nothing had run before, and even now after INDYCAR, after NASCAR and testing it’s still surprising when you go down the inside. I think it’s going to be tricky in traffic. There is a high amount of grip on the line and on the inside and in the braking zones it’s low. We’ll sort it out. Overall, I think we learned things at the Indy road course that helped us figure out a few things and we’re on the right path with the 01 Cadillac.”No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani following the second practice in which he posted the quickest lap: ““It was a positive day for all of us at Cadillac Racing. A better order in the second practice, I would say. Jokes aside, it’s not only being quick in practice 1 and expecting to be quick in practice 2. You have to keep working on it, trying different things to find a little bit here and a little bit there. It was a good start but obviously the competition is very stiff and strong. It’s a long track and a small mistake going really quick can cost you a couple of tenths (of a second) and a position. Trying to put everything together is not easy and that’s why we’re trying to have a car that’s good and easier to achieve the desired lap times. At the end of the day it’s competition whether it’s’ practice or qualifying. You always want to be the quickest. Practice is very tight and we shouldn’t expect anything different in qualifying., which means that every detail is going to count.”

NEWMANSTOWN, PA (Aug. 4, 2023) – For the first time in two years, national dirt Midget racing is coming back to the Northeast with the inaugural Appalachian Midget Week, featuring the stars of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

Five-straight days of racing – Tuesday-Saturday, Aug. 8-12 – at five tracks across Pennsylvania and New Jersey will have some of the best rising open-wheel talents in the country battling for a $4,000 grand prize each night and their share of a $5,250 points fund, paying $2,500 to the champion, $1,250 for second, $750 for third, $500 for fourth and $250 for fifth in the miniseries standings.

The last time a national Midget series made a trip up the Eastern Seaboard was in 2021, when the USAC National Midget Series held its seventh installment of Pennsylvania Midget Week. Several present-day Xtreme Outlaw Series championship chasers took part in the swing at one or multiple points in that span, racing at many of the same stops that now exist on the Appalachian Midget Week schedule.

• Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #08) – The 20-year-old Xtreme Outlaw Series points leader from Bixby, OK, contested shows with the USAC swing through PA in 2020 and 2021, once with his former team at Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) and the other with his family-run team at Dave Mac-Dalby.

• Zach Daum (Trifecta Motorsports #7U) – A veteran of the open-wheel racing world, Daum, 32, of Pocahontas, IL, made three starts on the USAC swing in 2021, and has prior experience racing in other open-wheel divisions at a few of the tracks on the schedule.

• Taylor Reimer (Keith Kunz Motorsports #25K) – The 23-year-old from Tulsa, OK, competed in all five races with USAC in 2021, collecting two top-10 finishes over the five-day stretch. Now a multi-year veteran with KKM, Reimer is headed back to PA/NJ with much more experience and familiarity under her belt.

• Gavin Miller (Keith Kunz Motorsports #97) – Though Miller is only in his first full-time Midget season with KKM, he’s had plenty of laps in a Micro Sprint around four of the five tracks on the 2023 Appalachian Midget Week slate. The 16-year-old rookie is the lone driver on the Xtreme Outlaw Series from Pennsylvania (Allentown), giving him a slight advantage over others with his prior experience at the venues.

Each offered their perspectives on their prior racing experience at the PA-NJ tracks ahead of the start of Appalachian Midget Week, airing live all week on DIRTVision.

How do you mentally prepare to take on a five-day stretch of racing?

McIntosh: You always know it’s a grueling challenge every year; any Midget week. I’ve had quite a bit of experience now doing Midget week. This’ll be my third Midget week in Pennsylvania. Feels like it’s been a while; it’s been a couple years. It’s nice that Xtreme is getting us back out there. I feel like all five of those racetracks are really good, especially those first two. I’m looking forward to it.

Daum: It’s just the little things, like making sure you’re eating good. Making sure you’re staying hydrated – that’s the biggest thing people don’t realize. That’s a lot of mental focus you lose if you’re not properly hydrated; you don’t feel good. It’s easy to get sick out on the road when you’re eating truck stop food. You’re eating crap, basically. Having sure you have some decent meals you can eat, making sure you drink plenty of water and try to get as decent amount of sleep as you can – that’s the biggest thing I try to do to prepare for that stuff.

Reimer: Honestly, I feel like we race them all the time, so after a while, you get used to it. I feel like it used to be more where we’d race two times in a weekend, but now we have these stretches where we race four-to-five times. I think it helps building momentum throughout the week. If we have a couple good runs, I think it makes it a little bit easier to go into a week where we’re racing a lot more.

How do you expect to perform?

McIntosh: I think we’ll be really good. I ran USAC’s Midget week there a couple times. Now with Xtreme going there, we’ll be just fine. Robert [Dalby, crew chief] got to do it once with me, and the other time was with Keith [Kunz]. Either way, I feel like I have decent laps there. I think those are my style tracks; a couple of them are bullrings and the other couple are just good racetracks.

Daum: Hopefully, we can just carry in the momentum we’ve got already. We’ve been really good here lately. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re not trying to change too much, we’re just trying to keep rolling. We’ve got a good package, so as long as we can keep rolling and continue on that trend, I think we’re gonna be okay.

It’s not often national Midget racing comes to the Northeast. What are your thoughts on expanding into that region of the country?

McIntosh: I think it’s good for the sport. Obviously, there’s some good tracks out there and they race Midgets really well, so it’s kinda surprising we don’t race there more often. It’s good that Xtreme’s getting us back on the schedule out there because I think the fans want to see it. I feel like when we are there, there’s tons of fans that show up because they want to see Midget racing. Everyone tunes into Chili Bowl every year, so for them to be able to see Midgets come into Pennsylvania and their hometown is cool for them to see.

Daum: It’s just a lot of fun. You get to go out there and see different racetracks. I’ve been kinda hounding these guys about going down in the south and racing. There’s a lot of tracks in the south that could have really good Midget races. When you stay complacent and just keep racing in three or four states that are right in the Midwest, you don’t get to see these hidden gems that are what make racing so great. Going to new racetracks is always a good thing – it broadens your horizons about what else is out there.

Miller: I think it’s pretty cool. You see people you know there – family, friends, past people you’ve seen before. I think it’s pretty cool for Xtreme Midgets to go to places like that. Hopefully, there’ll be more races there some time in the future.

Reimer: I’m really excited to go to PA. The fans there, when we went for the USAC series, they were really cool and they had a lot of people out there, so I’m excited to go back. That’s what Midget racing is all about – getting to meet people and putting on a good show for the fans.

What’s the one track you’re looking forward to racing the most?

McIntosh: I think Lanco (Clyde Martin Memorial). It’s been a couple years since I’ve been there, but from what I remember, it was a really good track. Last time I was there, I flipped pretty bad with a shock failure. I’ve raced Millbridge a lot since then and, to me, it seems pretty similar to that place, so I’m definitely excited to get back to Lanco.

Daum: Probably Path Valley. Last time I was there, we were riding in a motorhome with a guy and we took out some dude’s front door. His house was literally right on the side of the road, he opened it, and we took his front door off. I vividly remember that trip; I remember the racetrack being really fun. It’s big enough to be a good size racetrack, but still small enough that I think it’s gonna produce really good racing.

Miller: I would say I’m looking forward to Lanco (Clyde Martin Memorial) the most. I raced on that track all the time; it was pretty fun. On the last night of [USAC PA Midget Week], I raced that two years ago. It was pretty fun in a Micro.

Reimer: I think Lanco (Clyde Martin Memorial). That track’s really fun. It kinda reminds me of like a small bullring, sorta like Millbridge or Port City. I remember it was really fun last year. We had some hard luck on our side in the Heat Race and then got unlucky in the Feature. I’m looking to going back there and hopefully getting a good finish.

These races kick off the second half of the season. How crucial will these races be to your late-season championship push?

McIntosh: They’re a big deal. If we can put ourselves in the top five every night, that’s all we need to do. Guys can close on you just a little bit if you run fifth every night and they run second or third maybe. But if you’re fifth every night, that consistency will show in the end. If we can get a couple wins while we’re out there and stay in the top five the whole swing, I think we’ll be okay.

Daum: We can’t afford to fall out of any races – that’s our biggest thing right now. [The Trifecta Motorsports team] – they’ve been OK; they haven’t fallen out of too many races on the owner’s [points] side of things. [On the] driver’s side, we had some issues earlier in the year and couldn’t capitalize on some of what we should’ve been able to capitalize on. Now, we just can’t afford to fall out of any races.

Miller: It’ll definitely be critical if we can pull off a bunch of good finishes there. It’ll definitely help my points a lot. That’s something you’ve got to worry about at the end of the season. The last handful of races, we’re not there yet, so I’m not trying to think about it right now and just race my race, stay focused and not let that interfere with my driving.

The Oakwood, IL driver scored his seventh win of 2023, and 11th triumph of his career

NEW RICHMOND, WI – August 3, 2023 – In a season filled with firsts, Bobby Pierce added another to his resume Thursday night at Cedar Lake Speedway.  

The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series points leader took the lead on Lap 1 and never looked back to earn the opening night win of the 36th annual USA Nationals. 

It was his second win in a three-day span, after claiming his second Hawkeye 50 triumph on Tuesday. That momentum carried into Thursday night at Cedar Lake, winning his Heat Race and then drawing the pole for the 25-lap Feature. 

Pierce drove away from three-time and defending USA Nationals champion Jonathan Davenport on the opening lap of the Feature. However, his momentum was slowed twice in the first five laps as Daniel Hilsabeck spun to bring out a caution on both occasions. 

Despite the yellow flags, the Oakwood, IL driver aced both restarts, pulling away from the field.  

Behind the “Smooth Operator,” four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard climbed to the front, locked in a battle with Davenport for second. The two traded slide jobs for a couple of laps before Sheppard got the advantage in Turn 2 on Lap 7. That’s when the New Berlin, IL driver set his sights on Pierce. 

Sheppard inched closer and closer every lap. But when they found traffic, Pierce found a better course to navigate throughout it each time. Out of traffic, Sheppard could close in, close enough to dive underneath the #32 at times, but that was as close as the #B5 would get. And every time Sheppard feel back, Ricky Thornton Jr. was there, waiting. 

In the final 10 laps, Pierce pulled away to win his seventh World of Outlaws Feature of 2023. 

Pierce said his $6,000 victory came down to tire choice and some luck. 

“It’s pretty crazy the roll we’re on,” Pierce said. “We had a little luck tonight drawing the one, and Gordy had some issues in the Heat Race, and I don’t know if I was going to pass him or not. But sometimes, a little luck goes a long way. 

“The car was a little tight in the Feature. I got tight there, and I just changed my line. I think we made the right call on tires. A lot of guys running up front had the opposite of what I had.” 

Even though Pierce is celebrating, he knows what’s ahead of him this weekend as he prepares for his chance at $50,000 on Saturday. 

“We have a lot of confidence,” Pierce said. “We’ve already got this first night out of the way. We’ve got a lot of really good points, and [Series] points in general.” 

The win extends Pierce’s points lead to 112 points over Chris Madden, who finished 14th – earning the Fox Factory Hard Charger award, coming from his 23rd starting position. 

Sheppard settled for second, but only after a battle with Thornton Jr., the Prairie Dirt Classic winner, in the last few laps. Thornton pulled underneath Sheppard’s Longhorn Chassis a few times but didn’t have the momentum to make the pass. 

The four-time champion said he was happy with his car but might’ve gone the wrong way on his tire choice. 

“My car was really good,” Sheppard said. “The car was balanced and maneuverable. I could put the car top, middle, bottom, anywhere I wanted to go. As soon as I got into lap traffic in the end, I pushed it a little bit harder, and I felt my tire getting hot and getting greasy, and I started sliding a little bit more. I think that was my biggest issue. But overall, it’s a solid start to the weekend.” 

Thornton finished third—his third consecutive World of Outlaws podium. The Martinsville, IN driver said he needed the top lane to slow down to have a chance at the win. 

“I was really good in the middle and the bottom,” Thornton said. “We’re kind of setting up for the 100 lapper. I told [my crew], really, as long as we get a top five here, it’ll set us up good for tomorrow at least. We had a good car. Bobby was a little better than us, but I feel like clean air had a lot to do with that, too.” 

Despite finishing third, Thornton didn’t walk away empty handed. He won the annual F.A.N.S. Fund dash to end the night, passing Ricky Weiss to earn the $2,500 prize. 

Brian Shirley finished fourth in Thursday’s Feature, while Hudson O’Neal rounded out the top five. 

After one night of action at Cedar Lake Speedway, Pierce leads the USA Nationals points standings by one point over Brandon Sheppard. The top 16 drivers after Friday’s Feature will lock into Saturday’s USA Nationals finale. 

Here’s a look at the Top 10 in points:  

1. Bobby Pierce 742
2. Brandon Sheppard -1
3. Ricky Thornton Jr. -12
4. Hudson O’Neal -19
5.Jonathan Davenport -20
6. Brian Shirley -21
7. Cade Dillard -23 
8.Tanner English -24 
9. Shannon Babb -30 
10. Shane Clanton -50

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to Cedar Lake Speedway for night two of the 36th annual USA Nationals at Cedar Lake. Drivers will battle in another 25-lap Feature paying $6,000-to-win. 

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model race live on DIRTVision.     

CASE Construction Equipment Late Mode Feature (25 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 5. 1-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 7. 96V-Tanner English[9]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard[8]; 9. 18B-Shannon Babb[13]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton[11]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[15]; 12. 31-Kye Blight[10]; 13. 40B-Kyle Bronson[19]; 14. 44-Chris Madden[23]; 15. 1ST-Johnny Scott[7]; 16. 1T-Tyler Erb[12]; 17. 19R-Ryan Gustin[24]; 18. 18D-Daulton Wilson[14]; 19. 174-Ethan Dotson[21]; 20. 55C-Chad Mahder[17]; 21. 9-Nick Hoffman[22]; 22. 11-Gordy Gundaker[25]; 23. B1-Brent Larson[26]; 24. 49T-Jake Timm[20]; 25. 30-Todd Cooney[27]; 26. 14W-Dustin Walker[28]; 27. 7-Drake Troutman[16]; 28. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[18] FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER: Chris Madden 

F.A.N.S Fund Dash (12 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 2. 7W-Ricky Weiss[3]; 3. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[2]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger[4]; 5. 25F-Jason Feger[6]; 6. 18D-Daulton Wilson[9]; 7. 11G-James Giossi[10]; 8. 126-Kaede Loudy[1]; 9. 8M-Dillon McCowan[7]; 10. (DNS) 7-Drake Troutman 

BATAVIA, Ohio (August 3, 2023) – One of the most anticipated events of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season, the Sunoco North/South 100 – Presented by Lucas Oil is just one week away. The country’s top dirt late model drivers will converge at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., Thursday-Saturday, August 10-12, to chase over $280,000 in prize money. A stellar field of drivers are expected to battle it out in two preliminary nights, Thursday and Friday. Each night, the field will be split into two groups based on pill draw, with each group competing in a full program of Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and their respective A-Main. The combined points from Thursday and Friday’s preliminary events will determine the line-ups for Saturday’s Heat Races. The Modifieds will also compete in a full program on Thursday and Friday, vying for a $1,000 top prize each night. Saturday’s off-track festivities will kick off with the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Memorabilia Auction, followed by a Dirt Racing Outreach Service. The on-track action begins with Dirt Draft Hot Laps and Heat Races for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The Modifieds compete in a 30-lap, $3,000-to-win A-Main, followed by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series B-Mains. The 100-lap, $75,000-to-win Sunoco North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil then takes center stage, followed by a $2,000-to-win Non-Qualifiers race to cap off the weekend action. On Thursday and Friday, the pit gate opens at 3:00 PM ET, while the general admission gates open at 6:00 PM ET. Hot laps start at 7:00 PM ET, with racing one hour later at 8:00 PM ET. The pit, and general admission gates will all open at 3:00 PM ET for Saturday’s Sunoco North/South 100 – Presented by Lucas Oil. There will be a Dirt Racing Outreach Service at 5:00 PM ET following the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Memorabilia Auction. Hot laps are set to begin at 7:00 PM ET, with racing at 7:30 PM ET. Advance tickets and reserved seats for the Sunoco North/South Shootout and/or the Sunoco North/South 100, are available at: https://florencesp.webtix.co/events/154_41st-Annual-Sunoco-Race-Fuels-North-South-100-pres-by-Lucas-Oil.  Florence Speedway is a half-mile clay oval located in Northern Kentucky off Interstate 71/75, approximately 25 miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, visit www.florencespeedway.com.  The Official Host Hotel of Florence Speedway is the Hilton Cincinnati Airport, located at Exit 182 (Turfway Road) off I-75/71 in Florence, Kentucky. The Hilton Cincinnati Airport offers discounted rates to anyone attending the Sunoco North/South 100. Only a limited number of rooms are still available. For reservations, call (859) 371-4400 and request the North/South 100 rate, or book online at https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=CVGCHHF&groupCode=FNSR&arrivaldate=2023-08-10&departuredate=2023-08-14&cid=OM,WW,HILTONLINK,EN,DirectLink&fromId=HILTONLINKDIRECT Ricky Thornton Jr. leads the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – Presented by ARP to Florence Speedway. Hudson O’Neal is second, Jonathan Davenport is now third, with Brandon Overton and Tim McCreadie rounding out the top five. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:Thursday, August 10:1st A-Main: 1. $5,000, 2. $2,500, 3. $1,500, 4. $1,250, 5. $1,000, 6. $800, 7. $700, 8. $600, 9. $550, 10. $500, 11. $490, 12. $480, 13. $470, 14. $460, 15. $450, 16. $440, 17. $430, 18. $420, 19. $410, 20. $400, 21. $400, 22. $400, 23. $400, 24. $400 = Total $20,450 2nd A-Main: 1. $5,000, 2. $2,500, 3. $1,500, 4. $1,250, 5. $1,000, 6. $800, 7. $700, 8. $600, 9. $550, 10. $500, 11. $490, 12. $480, 13. $470, 14. $460, 15. $450, 16. $440, 17. $430, 18. $420, 19. $410, 20. $400, 21. $400, 22. $400, 23. $400, 24. $400 = Total $20,450 Thursday, August 10 Total: $40,900 Friday, August 11:1st A-Main: 1. $5,000, 2. $2,500, 3. $1,500, 4. $1,250, 5. $1,000, 6. $800, 7. $700, 8. $600, 9. $550, 10. $500, 11. $490, 12. $480, 13. $470, 14. $460, 15. $450, 16. $440, 17. $430, 18. $420, 19. $410, 20. $400, 21. $400, 22. $400, 23. $400, 24. $400 = Total $20,450 2nd A-Main: 1. $5,000, 2. $2,500, 3. $1,500, 4. $1,250, 5. $1,000, 6. $800, 7. $700, 8. $600, 9. $550, 10. $500, 11. $490, 12. $480, 13. $470, 14. $460, 15. $450, 16. $440, 17. $430, 18. $420, 19. $410, 20. $400, 21. $400, 22. $400, 23. $400, 24. $400 = Total $20,450 Friday, August 11 Total: $40,900 Saturday, August 12:41st Annual Sunoco North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil: 1. $75,000, 2. $20,000, 3. $10,000, 4. $9,000, 5. $8,000, 6. $7,000, 7. $6,000, 8. $5,000, 9. $4,500, 10. $4,000, 11. $3,500, 12. $3,250, 13. $3,000, 14. $2,750, 15. $2,700, 16. $2,650, 17. $2,600, 18. $2,575, 19. $2,550, 20. $2,525, 21. $2,500, 22. $2,500, 23. $2,500, 24. $2,500, 25. $2,500 = Total $189,100 Non-Qualifiers Race: 1. $2,000, 2. $1,000, 3. $800, 4. 750, 5. $700, 6. $650, 7. $600, 8. $550, 9. $500, 10. $450, 11. $400, 12. $400, 13. $400, 14. $400, 15. $400, 16. $400, 17. $400, 18. $400, 19. $400, 20. $400 = Total $12,000 Saturday, August 12 Total: $201,100 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rules:Thursday, August 10 – Friday, August 11:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials and Heat Races Saturday, August 12:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4 Previous North/South 100 Champions:2022 – Jonathan Davenport2021 – Brandon Overton2020 – Tim McCreadie2019 – Chris Madden2018 – Ricky Weiss2017 – Tim McCreadie2016 – Bobby Pierce2015 – Jonathan Davenport2014 – Eddie Carrier Jr.2013 – Don O’Neal2012 – Don O’Neal2011 – Jimmy Owens2010 – Jimmy Owens2009 – Jimmy Mars2008 – Darren Miller2007 – Jimmy Owens2006 – Steve Shaver2005 – Bart Hartman2004 – Steve Shaver2003 – Dan Schlieper2002 – Chub Frank2001 – Rained Out2000 – Scott Bloomquist1999 – Bob Pierce1998 – Donnie Moran1997 – Rick Aukland1996 – Donnie Moran1995 – John Gill1994 – Jack Boggs1993 – John Gill1992 – Jack Boggs1991 – Rodney Combs1990 – Mike Head1989 – Jeff Purvis1988 – Scott Bloomquist1987 – Jeff Purvis1986 – Jack Boggs1985 – John Mason1984 – Pat Patrick1983 – Pat Patrick

Born of technology and ingenuity, fast street cars are all the rage in modern drag racing. Beginning with its first event of the 2024 season, NMCA provides a new class for low-10-second street/strip machines to battle on the quarter-mile — Scoggin Dickey Parts Center Street Warrior 10.10 presented by Chevrolet Performance. “We’ve seen huge growth among our street-car classes in both the NMCA and NMRA series,” said Rollie Miller, General Manager & National Event Director of NMCA. “Street Warrior 10.10 will open the door for really quick, GM-powered street cars to compete on the national stage and earn payout and pro level contingency money while competing for a championship.” Debuting at Rockingham Dragway on April 11-14, 2024 as part of the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals, Scoggin Dickey Parts Center Street Warrior 10.10 presented by Chevrolet Performance will showcase street-legal (including current registration and valid insurance) rides capable of running single-digit elapsed time but competing with a single index. Run with a heads-up start on a .400 Pro Tree and running the full quarter mile, Street Warrior 10.10 competitors will be randomly paired via chip draw during eliminations. “We’re excited about the Street Warrior 10.10 class being open to anything under the sun that’s got a GM powerplant in it, including the wide range of crate engines from Chevrolet Performance,” Warren Ekery, Event Marketing Coordinator at Scoggin Dickey Parts Center, said. “It will be fun to see where it goes because it opens participation up to so many more street-car racers. They can come out and run on an index class and they don’t have to try to be competitive with the seasoned heads-up racers with purpose-built race cars.” Scoggin Dickey Parts Center Street Warrior 10.10 presented by Chevrolet Performance is a season points championship class set to run during every Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals event. Competing vehicles must be motivated by General Motors engines — including Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and GM — powerplants. Winners of the class will take home $1,000, runners-up will score $400, semifinalists will earn $125, and quarterfinalists will drive away with $50. There is also pro level NMCA contingency available, which pays $350 to the winner and $175 to the runner-up per qualified product. Stay tuned for possible Chevrolet Performance crate engine bounties for purchases made through Scoggin Dickey Parts Center. Click Here for Complete Rules For more on the full slate of Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals classes and races, visit NMCADigital.com.

August 3, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Wood Brother team are set once again honor Ford’s 20-Year Senior Technicians with a special paint scheme for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Ford’s home track – Michigan International Speedway.

Once again, the honorees will have their names on the No. 21 Mustang and will be invited to attend Sunday’s race on the two-mile oval in Brooklyn, which is like a home track for the Woods and the No. 21 team. The Woods have raced Ford Motor Company vehicles exclusively throughout their decades-long NASCAR career and have a long-term sponsorship relationship with Motorcraft and Quick Lane.

The track also is home turf for crew chief Brian Wilson.

“I was born in Detroit and went to many races at MIS growing up,” he said. “Any time we’ve had success there it’s been a special weekend.”

Wilson, like most everyone in the Cup garage, knows how important it is to represent their manufacturer well in a race in the heart of the American automobile manufacturing world.

“Everyone at Ford knows how important it is to run well at Michigan,” he said. “Continuing the win streak and bringing home the Heritage Trophy is the primary focus this week.”

Wilson also is pleased to be a part of the celebration of veteran Ford and Lincoln technicians.

“The car looks especially mean this week with the primarily black scheme,” he said. “We hope to put it up front to make everyone proud.”

Practice for the FireKeepers Casino 400 is set for Saturday at 12:35 p.m. Eastern Time and will be followed immediately by qualifying.

Sunday’s 200-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. with Stage breaks planned for Laps 45 and 120.

USA Network will carry the live TV coverage both days.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESBIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIXNASHVILLE, TENNESSEETEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCEAUGUST 4-6, 2023 CHEVROLET RACES INTO MUSIC CITY WITH MOMENTUM FOR THE BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX DETROIT (August 3, 2023) – Racing into Music City this weekend, Nashville hosts its third annual Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the temporary street circuit downtown. Seeking the first win for Chevrolet on the 2.17-mile, 11-turn track full of unique features, the Bowtie brand has one NTT P1 Pole Award (Scott McLaughlin – 2022) as well as one podium (Scott McLaughlin – 2022) and 34 laps led (McLaughlin – 22 laps, 2022, Josef Newgarden – 12 laps, 2022). With the Team Chevy drivers and teams navigating the one-of-a-kind course that sees553 yards of bridge exclusive to INDYCAR and 300 feet of pit lane, the track offers tight racing around Nissan Stadium and over the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge while blending three loves of Nashville – music, food, and racing. Josef Newgarden, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, calls Music City home and looks forward to racing in front of a hometown crowd saying, “It’s great to get back to Nashville. For me, it’s special being a home track event. We’ve got some good momentum, but I don’t know that it will translate fully to Nashville. The tough thing about INDYCAR is that (the tracks) are all are so different. The tracks that we go to, this street circuit is 180 degrees from what we had in Iowa. The second GP race in Indianapolis will be a totally different challenge again. It’s about being flexible. I think if we can have a good run here on these last five races, then we can still challenge for this championship. I’m feeling really confident in what Chevrolet has done for us, and we’re going to try and put all that work to use this weekend.” “Chevrolet is heading to Nashville with momentum after a successful double race weekend in Iowa,” said Rob Buckner, IndyCar Program Manager at General Motors. “As is always the case in the NTT INDYCAR Series, going from a very fast short oval to a tight, technical street course presents a new set of demands for both the driver and his Chevrolet-powered car. “With the additional consideration of high heat and humidity, not to mention the long run over the bridge and the twisty sections on both sides of the river, our Chevrolet engineers have been working closely with our Chevrolet teams to arrive with a package as close as possible when they roll off the transporter. The track can present a lot of different options on the amount of downforce you can run. There have been lots of time spent looking at both previous races’ data to see where we can improve. Working to score a W on the last street course of the season.” The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix race weekend on the streets of Nashville kicks off with practice Friday, Aug. 4 at 4 p.m. ET. The second practice of the event takes place Saturday at 11:40 a.m. ET, with qualifications following at 2:45 p.m. ET. The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix takes the green flag Sunday, Aug. 6 live on NBC at 12 p.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“This weekend will be a test to a lot of the training we’ve done in the offseason just because of how humid and hot it will be, as it usually is every single year. It’s a very tough, physical race because of the heat, and it’s also a bumpy and challenging track. Nashville has probably been the track where we haven’t quite reached our potential either due to getting hit or having other issues.” Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:”It’s super cool to be back in Nashville. It’s obviously one of the most fun cities in the Midwest and the U.S. It’s really a growing city, and it’s awesome to be here representing the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I love the track layout; there have been some dramatic events there in the past. This is my third time coming here, and it’s one of those where you have to survive until the end because there’s so much going on, especially in the restarts. We’ll see if we can be a little quicker this year and have a good weekend.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:”Nashville is such an electrifying city, and that energy really translates to the track. The blend of music, culture and passionate fans creates an atmosphere that’s unparalleled. This race has become a flagship event on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar, and we all feel that prestige and excitement. Every year, the race always seems to be chaotic and a bit of a coin flip, but hopefully we are on the right side of it come Sunday for our final street course race of the year.” Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“We hope the rest of the field will be following our Arrow McLaren Chevrolets over the Cumberland River and through the streets of Nashville come Sunday. Street circuits haven’t been our strongest discipline this season, but we’ve got some fresh ideas and new developments to try as we aim to have some fun and build a better race team week-after-week. When it comes to race strategy, Nashville has proved it can reward the gambler. So, teams are really going to need to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em this weekend.” Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“The Music City Grand Prix presents another opportunity for us as a team to push forward and improve on our 2023 season. We have some positives to draw upon from our Toronto race weekend. Hopefully, we can apply those findings to the BITNILE.COM cars on a similarly bumpy street circuit in Nashville!” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“It’s going to be an exciting weekend in Nashville! There is definitely a chance to us to get the BITNILE.COM car into the Top 10 and get some points. It’s a cool track, very bumpy, and there is always a lot of stuff happening. Staying out of that stuff is going to be important! It’s going to be a really warm weekend so living Florida and being used to the heat all the time should help. I just love the city of Nashville. Being able to drive there for the third time already is so exciting, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long but it has!” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:“I would say the key to getting around Nashville is being able to hit your marks, and be consistent like on every street course. The thing with Nashville is you also have to drive a very uncomfortable race car to go fast, that meaning it’s a very bumpy track and you have to be comfortable with being shook at 180 miles an hour consistently.” Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:“The key to Nashville is having a package for the car that can allow it to turn really well in the low-speed corners and a car that is very compliant over bumps. I have been preparing by doing a lot of heat training, along with my normal training and sim time.”

CHEVROLET AT NASHVILLE (V6 era, since 2012):Wins on the streets of Nashville: 0 Pole Awards in Nashville: 12022: Scott McLaughlin Podiums in Nashville by Team Chevy since 2012: 1 Laps Led in Nashville by Team Chevy since 2012: 34

2023 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:193: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.  111: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.  124: Earned poles since 2012.  7: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.  7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.  12: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 5: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. 26: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer.  14: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including the past 11 with Chevrolet power.  9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver.  46: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.*Will Power’s career total of 70 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.